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Knox teachers, parents skewer Trump pick DeVos at meeting

Knox County teachers, parents and community members railed against President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, at a Tuesday evening meeting, lambasting her as "categorically unqualified" and attacking her policy position

Knox teachers, parents skewer Trump pick DeVos at meeting

Knox County teachers, parents and community members met to oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education.
Travis Dorman

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Helen Tews at a news conference at the Knox County Education Association on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 where teachers, parents, and community members voiced their at their of Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education. (Photo: SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)Buy Photo

Knox County teachers, parents and community members railed against President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, at a Tuesday evening meeting, lambasting her as "categorically unqualified" and attacking her policy positions.

Lauren Hopson, president of the Knox County Education Association where the meeting took place, spoke first and called opposition of DeVos a bipartisan issue. DeVos is a billionaire, a former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman and a school choice advocate. Hopson listed several reasons she believes DeVos to be unqualified.

Hopson began by saying DeVos doesn't know the difference between "growth," how much students improve, and "proficiency," how many students meet a certain standard – a common education debate on how to best measure students' progress. DeVos confused the two terms when Minnesota Sen. Al Franken questioned her during her Jan. 17 confirmation hearing.

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Lauren Hopson, president of the Knox County Education Association during a packed news conference on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at KCEA headquarters to voice their objection to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as US Secretary of Education. (Photo: SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

"If she's going to be working with legislators about the possibility of placing guns in schools," Hopson continued, "she should already know whether we have them or not, and she does not."

"And if there's grizzly bears!" an audience member added, referring to DeVos' confirmation hearing comment that a school in Wyoming might need to keep a gun on hand "to protect from potential grizzlies."

David Gorman, a 7th grade science teacher at Cedar Bluff Middle School, spoke next. He urged attendees to advocate and call Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, a supporter of DeVos who is the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Gorman then referenced a 1997 op-ed penned by DeVos for the Capitol Hill Newspaper Roll Call.

"Betsy Devos arrogantly said, when asked about the massive amounts of money that she had provided (to elected officials)," Gorman said. "She said, 'I have decided to stop taking offense that we are buying influence. Now I simply concede the point.' " The audience gasped and booed.

"Betsy DeVos seeks to undermine and dismantle public education," Gorman concluded. "It's what she does. It's in her nature, and Lamar Alexander should know better."

Attendees also excoriated DeVos for asserting at her confirmation hearing that states should have the right to choose whether to enforce the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a piece of legislation that allows students with disabilities to receive an education tailored to their needs. When told the IDEA is a federal civil rights law, DeVos responded, "Federal law must be followed where federal dollars are in play."

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Barry Myers, president of the Knox County Council PTA, spoke during a news conference on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at the Knox County Education Association to voice his objection to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as US Secretary of Education. Myers, a father of nine, attended the event with eight of his children. (Photo: SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

Barry Myers, president of the Knox County Council Parent Teachers Association, said IDEA enriched the final two and a half years of his oldest son's life before he died due a rare genetic disorder. Because of IDEA, Myers said, his son, who loved school, was able to feel like he was still in school as a special education teacher visited his home twice a week.